“Having a platform that allows people to connect with other people that may have similar affinities but are not working in the same groups gets people very excited. Spigit is a great way to close the gap between people that may have never met each other.”

Crowdsourcing Ideas for Community Improvement: The "What Works" Challenge

Social issues resulting from limited employment opportunities, high crime rates, and poverty affect us all. These circumstances are especially devastating to high-risk urban areas like the Frazier community in Dallas, Texas, where unemployment rates are tremendous, and a chance for economic recovery becomes less likely each day.

In an effort to bring lasting solutions to the Frazier community, FRI, a non-profit organization in Dallas, has developed the What Works Challenge, an idea management hub powered by Spigit innovation management software. By crowdsourcing ideas from around the world, FRI hopes to answer a crucial question: How can we create opportunities for living-wage jobs for hard-to-employ residents of high-risk urban communities?

The “What Works Challenge” and Why it Matters The community of Frazier faces a number of difficulties, including:

Significant income disparity between the residents of Frazier and those of Dallas/ the rest of Texas

Over 40% of residents have been incarcerated

Only 19% of parolees have received a high school diploma or equivalent education

65.5% of the adult population in the community is unemployed

General societal neglect

The goal of this challenge is to discover executable ideas that will help get Frazier residents — and those in other similar urban areas — into living wage jobs. This inspiring video features interviews with many of the Frazier residents affected by these difficulties.

Crowdsourcing Ideas with SpigitSpigit crowdsourcing software allows the team at FRI to reach out to myriad organizations for ideas on how to best help the residents of Frazier recover and thrive. Participants can submit their own solutions, discuss suggestions from others, collaborate on ideas they support, and vote on submissions they like. Spigit will allow decision-makers to identify the best ideas and predict their potential impact, enabling both long-lasting and breakthrough innovations as the crowd grows and more ideas are brought in.

Check out Frazier Revitalization, Inc. on Facebook, or join the conversation on Twitter by tweeting @FRIDallas using the hashtag #WhatWorks.